File-holder



' (No Model.)

' 7 2Sheets-Sheet 2. J. G KEEPE.

FILE HOLDER.

I No. 507,22

Patented Oct. 24, 1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN C. KEEFE, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

FILE-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 507,228, dated. October 24, 1893.

Application filed January 3, 1893- $erial No. 457,036. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN G. KEEFE, of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvementin File-Holders, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification. My inventionrelates to a file holder, adapted for use in offices for receiving and holding bills, letters or other sheets of paper, which it is desired to hold together temporarily, to which file other bills, letters or papers are to be added from time to time or from which some of the papers may be required to be removed.

The object of my invention is to provide a more convenient and efficient device than has heretofore been in use, which improved device is simple and compact in form and strong and enduring in quality and structure.

In the drawings, Figure 1, is a top plan view of the file holder, a part being broken away to showinterior construction. Fig. 2, is avertical section of the file holder on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking toward the left. Fig. 3, is a top plan view of a modified form of my file holder. Fig. 4, is a vertical section of the modified form of the file holder on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

A is the foot or base, conveniently formed of sheet metal struck up in suitable form to adapt it to rest on its edges. Rods or pins B preferably tubular are fixed upright in the base, and to easily perforate the sheets of paper being impaled on them, are advisably beveled or pointed at their upper extremities.

Curved wire guards G 0 formed integrally with an intermediate shaft D provided with the crank E, are pivoted by means of the shaft D to the base A. The guards C are located at a little distance from the pins B, and are arranged to swing in parallel vertical planes toward and from the pins the free extremities of the guards being adapted to register with and close upon the upper extremities of the pins. From this position the guards may be swung rearwardly away from the pins sufficiently far to permit papers freely to be placed on and removed from the pins. The shaft D is conveniently hinged to the base by means of tonguesF cut from the base and turned over and about the shaft, which rests on the base plate.

A spring G secu red to the base bears against the wrist of the crank E and is adapted to hold the guards yieldingly closed on the pins B or in the rearwardly projecting or open position shown by the dotted lines H in Fig. 2. For accomplishing this most satisfactorily the under or bearing surface of the spring is transversely recessed at I I to receive the wrist of the crank therein.

To shield the spring and to provide a stop to limit the movement of the guards a sheet metal cover K over the spring and about the lower pivoted extremities of the guards, is se cured to the base A conveniently by means of lugs L integral with the cover which are thrust through apertures therefor in the base and are secured thereto by being overturned against its under surface. The cover K is provided with slots M M through which the guards O 0 pass, which slots are elongated in the line ofunotion of the guards and which slots at their rear extremities terminate at such point that the cover there forms a stop adapted to prevent further rearward movement of the guards, as shown in Fig. 2.

In the drawings, the spring G is shown as being an integral part of the base A but as for general use the base can be made of wood or of slightly elastic or non elastic metal the spring in such cases is to be made independently of the base and secured thereto by rivets or equivalent means.

As file holders of other forms are in use the method of using this device will be clearly understood without further description thereof.

In the modified form of device shown in Figs. 3 and 4 the guards O O are formed integrally with the intermediate straight shaft D provided with the rigid radially-projecting lug or rib E. A spring N is coiled about the shaft D medially one extremity of which bears against the base A and the other extremity of which bears against the rib E and is adapted to hold the guards O G yieldingly up to and closed on the pins B B. A strip of elastic metal 0 secured at one end firmly to the base A and provided with shoulders or catches P P.- extends over and rests on the edge of the rib E, the rib being adapted to engage the shoulders]? Pwhereby the device is made to serve as a latch to automatically engage the rib E and hold the guards G O in tilted position rearwardly. The guards are released by lifting the latch and are thrown forward by the action of the spring N.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A file holder, comprising an integral base formed of sheet metal, tongues cut from the base and turned over forming hinge sockets, upright impaling pins fixed in the base, swinging guards pivoted in saidhinge sockets on the base, a cranked shaft integral with and uniting the guards, the crankof which shaft is disposed and swingsin an upward arc entirely above the base, and aspring secured to the base bearing yieldingl-y and actively downwardly on the crank wrist, which spring has a plurality of transverse recesses in which i the crank wrist is received and retained yieldingly holding the guards in predetermined positions, substantially as described.

2. In a file holder, the combination of a 2 5 sheet metal base, swinging guards pivoted thereto by a cranked shaft above the surface ,of the base, a spring secured to the base and bearing on" the wrist of the cranked shaft through its movement in an are above the 30 ;surface of the base, and a sheet metal cover secured to the base, which cover is over and shields the cranked shaft and the spring and is provided with elongated slots through which the swinging guards pass, the coverbe- 35 ing adapted at the rear of the slots to serve as a stop to limit the movement of the guards rearwardly, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aifi-x my signature in presence of two witnesses. l JOHN G. KEEFE.

Witnesses-z ARTHUR L. MORSELL,

ANNA V. FAUST. 

